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New development to demolish theaters
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
July 13, 2010 at 10:44 am
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The CityPlace retail center has been approved to give a jolt to the Mid-Market district but to be built, the St. Francis Theatre will be destroyed and possibly also the Pantages.
Construction plans call for the developer to raze three boarded-up buildings, including the old St. Francis Theater, and replace them with a five-level, 90-foot-high, glass-fronted building. The two-level underground garage will be accessible from Stevenson Street, behind the development.
“We want to put something on that block of Market Street that would activate the street,” Rhoades said. “We want to attract tenants who will sell more affordable goods, electronics, sporting goods and other things not generally found downtown.”
Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Comments (5)
The St. Francis is probably a wreck at this point. But it wouldn’t be a good decision to destroy the Pantages. As far as I know it is still viable.
My bad. This isn’t the Pantages I was thinking of. I don’t know anything about the building mentioned above.
The Pantages they are talking about here at 5th & Market closed way back in the mid 1920’s. The Pantages name was transferred up to what is now the Orpheum at 8th & Market. It’s just the multi-story commercial building that exists now. For years the lower floor was a Kress’s store which I remember fondly from my younger days.
The St. Francis was a quite nice movie palace in it’s day. I was always hoping for a restoration a la the Golden Gate, Warfield and Orpheum but alas that is obviously not to be. That section of Market St. is in dire need of redevelopment though (what a dump!) and this retail project may be what’s needed, at least as a start, to make it more hospitable. So little new parking in an already congested area is a mistake I think.
Anything to help bring back business to Downtown Frisco I’m all for it.
Watch out cam bugs they may do a sneak attack soon on the St Francis like at the Embassy Theatre when it’s time came to go. Have your cameras ready for some interesting inside shots of the long closed St Francis Theatre. This new building will not help this part of Market St.